MEXICO CITY (Reuters) - The bodies of nine men with signs of torture were discovered in the poor, hyper-violent Mexican state of Guerrero, the state government said on Monday.

The bodies were found on Sunday evening outside the town of Atliaca, near the state capital of Chilpancingo, the state government said in a statement.

Representatives from the state attorney general's office found four bodies with feet and hands bound, and the remains of five other people in plastic bags, the statement said.

Guerrero, in the southwest of the country, is the murder capital of Mexico, where deadly cartels are fighting over heroin and crystal meth trafficking routes.

In 2014, 43 student teachers went missing in Guerrero, sparking a major human rights crisis for President Enrique Pena Nieto, whose popularity has sunk to fresh lows over his handling of the economy, rising violence and perceptions of corruption.